Plumb bob line spool



June 1953 c. s. WILLIAMS 2,

,PLUMB BOB LINE sPooL Filed April 25, 1952 56 INVENTOR CHEL s54 s. W/LLm/ws,

Patented June 2, 1 953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE -:2,s4o,27s=- "PLUMBBOB LINE SPOOL Chelsea .ScWilliams, Metropolis, Ill. ApplicationApriiggs, iesazsfin No. 284,320

filfhe' present invention relates to a plumb'bob line spooLand moreparticularly, has reference to a spool of thecharacter described adaptedto provide a means on which a plumb bob check line is windable when notin use and, unwindable when desired, and which will not unwind unt l theline is needed, said spool additionally-serving as a take-up device foradjusting theflength of and locking the check "line when the plumb bobisin u e- Plumb bob line spools are, of course, not new per se. v However,while those spools of which I" have knowledge permit the check line tobe wound, thereoujthereis still a certain arnountof inconvenienceattendantupon their use, derivin from the fact that in each instance,the check line, after-having beenadj usted to a selectedlengt-h, stillmust be tied to prevent undesired lengthening of the; line while it isin use. this connec-,

tion', the tightening of; the line is an incon venience, so far as theworkeris concerned, es;

pecially whenone is working outdoors in a cold temperature, a conditionwhich makes'it difficult to handle the spool while wearing gloves. 7 tThe main object of the prese t'invention, accordingly, is to provideafjplumb bob line spool. so forme d asto permit a checkline' tobe woundthereon or unwound with maximum" ease and facility, the spool being' s oformed as to cause the check line to be securely engaged againstundesired lengthening, and being further formed in" a manner that willpermit" said engagemeii-tfof the check; line to beeffected without thenecessity of tying the line.

Another important object is to provide a plumb .Yet another importantobject is to provide a plumb bob line spool which can be assembled or'disassembled with substantialspeedand ease. o, Summarized briefly, theinvention includes.v a, body having a portion on which a check line can.

be wound, the body having a peripheral 'lip circumposed about saidportion. A disk is positioned o adjacent said portion of the body, andis also formed with a peripheral lip, with the lips..ex.-. tending intoengagement withone another and.

protectively enclosingv the. wound line. The body 3 Claims. (Cl. 33217)id di k ave a i i-hsir sa Pr e being sh f f e ohi ibe a f r iha u po s or m h 99 a d. i lt 'd ne. n ih wher t res th l f t fri n en a e: xid,ilS amneh ng V check lin therebetween.- ,The's'ring is circumposed abouta length of line, the urpose ofjwhich is to keep h ,Sprieg q i jei eendeawwm an ni e -ro dyd s Y' h" r 's; Wo -4Tb? sp n was as di n i i liar e-fl movablyconnected at one endtdthe bodyhand a their i nd e e a d wth a oo am,- r' e en g .i i ia v he o f ior Pree i 1 f thedis'kf'saidhook member being assembled with a button that overlies the disk.Thejspring and but on, r arran r aiivei t e b s? a disk I as to not onlycause; saidbodyand' disk to be 'urg'ed'into clamping position,'but alsoto" bind the button "against the disk to permit the check line tobeabout the hook' membe? e e tmfi ihrbu w and after passage ofsaid'checkline between the lips ofthebody anddisk. o z

Other objects williiibr ifcar from the following d'scriptioiig 'theclaims" appended thereto, and from the annexeddrawing, in which like reference characters'designate like parts throughout'the severalVieWsQand'whereinQ Figure l isa'n' end'elevat'ional view of a plumb. bobline s'pool formed in" accordaiice withfthe present invention; t

ngur o is'as'ide elevationalview; I I Figure 3 is-ah end el'evationalview, showing the otherendofthe devicef Figure 4 is aiongitudinalsectionalview taken substantially on iine g-"ajofrigure 1-;and Figure 5 1s a perspective view of thespool as it appears when inuse.Referring t6 the drawings iri'det'ail, the reference numeralbeen'applied generally to a body, said body being formed of anysuitable'ma term, u h de last urine li -v Th body {0, this connection,is generally' cylindrical in form, and l 'p 'refer that there be pro flvidsd ni awier. bi idjbpd paced circumferential grooves l2,"that permi tthe to t ebqd s urslr. ,1 e F d 1 99 1 311 d -Ris r 1 .141012. whicha-plumb bob lineiswi'n'dable; said po'rtio'ri' being formed as {anaiiiafextension of the body andbeing integral, 'at' its free end} withanoutwardly directed, annular flange idisposed' 'in-a planerperpendicula'r to theakisof the body- 'an'ddesignatedbyithecreferenceinumral |6 f Y The. :provisionoLthareduced},axial leiiten'sioni I4 defines, at the base of saidextension, an annular shoulder l8 on the body, said shoulder beingspaced longitudinally of the body from the flange I6.

An annular lip 20 is integrally formed upon the body, said lip beingformed on the marginal portion of the shoulder 18 and being concentricwith and extended in the direction of the flange I6.

The relative formation and arrangement of the shoulder l8 and'fiange I6defines, between said fiange and shoulder, a circumferential recess 22on the axial extension M, said recess being adapted to receive a plumbbob check 11116 when said line is to be wound upon the'exte'nsion.

The other end of the body [0 is preferably recessed as at 24, and formedin the body is an axial bore 26, said bore opening at one end on therecessed end of the body, and communicating at its other end-with acounterbore 28 formed in the axial extension I4, said counterbore beingaligned 'coaxially with the bore 26. A clamping disk has been designatedby the reference numeral 30, said clamping disk being center' boss 34,said boss being extendable into the counterbore 28. A center opening 36is provided in the disk, said disk opening extending through the boss soas to communicate with the counterbore 28, and being aligned coaxiallywith said counterbore and with the bore 26 of the body Ill.

The device constituting the present invention includes a button 38,which is positioned exteriorly of the disk 30, said button overlying theadjacent end of the opening 36 and being so formed as to bind againstthe edge of said opening when the button is urged in the direction ofthe disk.

A hook member 40 is formed with a head at one end, said hook memberextending through a center opening provided in the button 38, with thehead engaging the button to prevent the. hook member from beingseparated accidentally,

removably engaged with the other ends of the.

spring 42 and length of line 44. The cross pin serves, in this regard,to hold the spring under tension, thus to assemble the disk with thebody and urge the disk and body toward one another,.

thereby to engage the lips 20, 32 throughout their respectivecircumferences, in a manner best shown in Figure 4.

The purpose of the length of line 44 is to permit a user to check thedistance that clampdisk 30 can be separated from body (6, this beingdesirable to eliminate the possibility of over-expanding the spring 42.Over-expansion of the spring would destroy the tension necessary topress the lip 32 in the direction of the lip 20 of the body I0, theengaging lips serving of the spring 42.

In use, a selected length of line is unwound from the extension I l, itbeing understood that to prevent plumb bob check line 48 from unwindingunless desired. Further the line 44 permits one to check the distancethat button 38 can be separated from disk 30, thereby eliminating thepossibility of expanding the spring 62 to such an extent as woulddestroy the tension necessary to press the button 38 against disk 38.The engaging button and disk lock the plumb bob check line after thedesired amount has been unwound, and also lock the plumb bob check lineafter the plumb bob has been adjusted to the desired height.

In assembling the parts, and assuming that the parts are separated, onewould first engage the spring and the line with the hook member 40,after which any hooked tool, not shown, is extended through the bore 26,counterbore 28, and center opening 35. The hook shaped tool would thenbe engaged with the line and spring, and would be utilized to extend thespring to the length of the line. Thereaften; theextended line A l andspring 32 are pulled throughthe' bore 26, and the cross pin 26 isengaged therewith in the manner shown in Figure 4.

The plumb bob check line is wound upon the extension M, within thecircumferential recess 22 thereof. B'y passing the check line d8 betweenthe lips 25, 32 it is clampably engaged. by said lips at all times, dueto the tension the pressure of the lips 20, 32, upon the line is not sogreat as to prevent the unwinding thereof. Thereafter, the check line isextended over the disk 30 as at 5B (Figure 5), and is given a turn aboutthe button 38. This looks the line against further unwinding.

The check line is then passed over a gradeline 52 as at 54, and theplumb bob 58 can be adjusted to any height desired. As soon as the plumbbob has been adjusted as to height,

it is retained at the height selected by winding the check line onceagain about the button 38. Thus, the purpose of the button is to lockthe line coming from the spool, and also to lock the line after theplumb bob has been adjusted to the proper height.

It is to be noted that the weight of the plumb bob. will draw the linetight about the hook member Gil, under the button, thus to look all.

the parts in a selected relationship.

It is believed to be an important characteristic of the presentinvention that the construction illustrated and described 'isa verysimple one, having a minimum ofparts simply arranged.

Nevertheless, despite the inherent simplicity of thearrangement, thespool permits the winding of a long length of check line thereupon, andis also formed to permit the unwinding of a selected part of said lengthwhenever the deviceis to be used. .The'spring 42, in this connection,not only serves to cause the beveled lips 28, 32, to bind frictionallyagainst the linefor the purpose of preventing further unwindline.

thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose'towhich it may be suited. Nor

is "the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific constructionillustrat-ed'and described;

since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of theprinciples of operation and the means presently devised to carry outsaid principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends anyminor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A plumb bob line spool comprising: a body formed with an axial boreand having a portion on which a check line can be wound, said portionbeing formed as an axial extension of the body and having a counterborecoaxial with and communicating with said bore; a clamping disk having acenter opening and arranged adjacent said portion, said disk including acenter boss extendable into the counterbore to hold the body and diskassembled in coaxial alignment; circumferential lips extending towardone another from the disk and body respectively, said lips beingcircumposed about said portion for protectively enclosing the woundline; and a spring extending through said bore and opening and engagedat opposite ends with the body and disk, said spring being tensioned toyieldably urge the body and disk toward one another, to force said lipsinto frictional engagement and thereby clampably engage said check linebetween the lips.

2. A plumb bob line spool comprising: a body formed with an axial boreand having a portion on which a check line can be wound, said portionbeing formed as an axial extension of the body and having a counterborecoaxial with and communicating with said bore; a clamping disk having acenter opening and arranged adjacent said portion, said disk including acenter boss extendable into the counterbore to hold the body and diskassembled in coaxial alignment; circumferential lips extending towardone another from the disk and body respectively, said lips beingcircumposed about said portion to protectively enclose the wound line; abutton positioned against the disk and including a hook member extendinginto said opening; and a spring extending through said bore and openingand engaged at opposite ends with the body and hook member respectively,said spring being tensioned to yieldably urge the body and disk towardone another to force said lips into frictional engagement, whereby toclampably engage said check line between the lips, said buttoncomprising means about which the check line is windable after passagethereof between the lips.

3. A plumb bob line spool comprising: a generally cylindrical bodyformed with an axial bore and having a portion on which a check line canbe wound, said portion being formed as an axial, reduced extension ofthe body and having a counterbore coaxial with and communicating withsaid bore, said extension defining, in cooperation with the body, ashoulder on said body extending about one end of the extension, saidextension including an outwardly directed flange on its other end,whereby to provide between the flange and shoulder an annular recessreceiving the wound line; a clamping disk having a center opening andarranged adjacent said portion, said disk including a center bossextendable into the counterbore to hold the body and disk assembled incoaxial alignment; peripheral lips on the shoulder and disk respectivelyextending toward one another and arranged about said recess forprotectively enclosing the wound line; a button positioned against saiddisk and including a hook member extending into said opening; a springextending through said bore and opening; a cross pin removably engagedwith one end of the spring and positioned against the body to hold thespring assembled therewith, said spring having its other end engagedwith the hook member, the spring being tensioned to yieldably urge thebody and disk toward one another, to force said lips into frictionalengagement, thereby to clampably engage said check line between thelips, said button comprising means about which the check line iswindable after passage thereof between the lips; and a length of lineengaged with the hook member and extending through said spring andengaged with the cross pin, said last-named length of line constitutingmeans efiective to limit expansion of the spring.

CHELSEA S. WILLIAMS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,608,022 Hanson Nov. 23, 1926 2,5 ,731 Gomberg Dec. 12, 1950

